[icernet] Media meet vows to resist religious extremism

[Arul Selvan]

  The "Third South Asian Free Media Conference", which concluded here 
today, adopted a declaration emphasising the need for achieving a 
democratic order and realising the responsibility of media persons to 
struggle collectively for democracy and freedom of expression. The 
declaration took note of the "uneven transition" of South Asian nations 
to the contemporary ideals of participatory democracy and their peoples' 
empowerment, criminalisation of politics and devaluation of systems of 
justices.

On India, the declaration said: "India, widely hailed as a secular 
democracy, has been threatened by forces of communalism and religious 
bigotry. Regional and sub-regional aspirations for devolution of powers 
have not been adequately addressed, resulting in frustrations and often 
also in the outbreak of violence". It observed that an "established 
tradition of press freedom is being threatened by a growing 
criminalisation of politics and abuse of judicial practices. These 
factors weaken India's pluralistic civil society and by that token, sap 
the foundations of democracy itself".

K.K. Katyal, consulting editor of The Hindu, who is also the president 
of the India chapter of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), 
founded in Pakistan in July 2000, led the Indian team.

Source:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/27/stories/2003052704651200.htm